


Moonless

by AppleRose42



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Dark Rayla, Ethari also needs a hug, Ethari has ADHD, Gen, M/M, Minor Angst, Rayla Needs a Hug (The Dragon Prince), adding tags as I go, and summaries, sorry I’m bad at tagging, tw:blood, tw:vomit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:20:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28212294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AppleRose42/pseuds/AppleRose42
Summary: Shortly after Runaan, Rayla and the assassins sent to kill Harrow and Ezran leave, Ethari is kidnapped by humans that Viren hired to steal things from Xadia for dark magic.
Relationships: Callum & Ethari (The Dragon Prince), Callum/Rayla (Eventualy), Ethari & Gren (The Dragon Prince), Ethari & Rayla (The Dragon Prince), Ethari & Runaan (The Dragon Prince), Ethari/Runaan (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 53
Kudos: 79





	1. Chapter 1, Sun’s Tears

**Author's Note:**

> Please forgive any mess ups this is my first time posting a story anywhere. It’s mostly going to be from Ethari’s perspective but we will get quite a bit from Rayla, Callum and Ezran too.
> 
> I’m really nervous about posting this so please be nice in the comments. That’s not to say I don’t want constructive criticism just please be nice about it.

Ethari smiled as he walked through the forest. It was a perfect day for a walk, not too cold or wet and the new year’s growth was just beginning to sprout. He still had quite a ways to walk if he wanted to have any chance of finding Sun’s Tears so he might as well enjoy it.

Some time later he found what he was looking for. There weren’t many of the dappled yellow and pink flowers yet but there were enough for a several week supply of healing salve. He would have kept a bush in the garden but they didn’t grow well that deep in the forest.

As he reached for the first handful to place in his basket a net dropped on him. He shouted in surprise as he hit the ground. He whipped his head around to look at his attackers and gasped, two humans were advancing on him with their weapons drawn. Before he could get out from under the net one of the humans pinned him to the ground.

Ethari wasn’t much of a fighter but, being married to an assassin, he had learned a thing or two. He managed to get the human and net off him. He scrambled to his feet and tried to run but the other one blocked him.

“HELP! H–” the one that had pinned him grabbed him from behind and covered his mouth.

“Knock him out.” The one holding him said. The one that had blocked him unsheathed a dagger and held it in a reverse grip. He bit the human’s hand in a desperate attempt to escape. It worked, sort of.

The human swore and dropped his now bleeding hand, giving Ethari a chance to push away from him and dodge the attack from the other one.

“HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!” he screamed as he tried to run but was knocked to the ground by the one that had grabbed him. He tried to scramble away but the human pinned him again.

“Let’s just kill this one.” the human growled, “He’s too much trouble. We can find another one and make an extra profit.”

Ethari missed the rest of the exchange in his frantic attempt to escape. He turned his head in time to see a dagger being raised to strike him. As the hilt of the dagger was brought down on his head he fully expected to never wake up again.

—————————————

“Hey Idunita,” Añe asked as she entered the shop, “Have you seen Ethari?”

Idunita looked up from the shirt she was sewing, “Not since this mornin’. He said he was goin’ out to get some Sun’s Tears. Why do you ask?”

“I asked him to make a necklace for Illia’s birthday. He said I could pick it up this afternoon but he’s not at the forge.”

“Have you tried the armory?” Eli suggested, “Sikan said he was supposed to drop off some trainin’ swords today.”

Añe nodded, “Yeah, they haven’t seen him. I’ve looked everywhere I can think of and haven’t found him.”

Idunita frowned, “That’s odd, it’s not like Ethari to just disappear.”

“Maybe he’s still out gettin’ the Sun’s Tears.” Eli said,

“That was early this mornin’ and I told him where to find some.” Idunita said, “There’s no way it could have taken him this long. Someone should go look for him.”

Within minutes of Añe bringing up their concerns two trackers were headed out of Silvergrove to find Ethari. It didn’t take them long to pick up his trail since Idunita had given them an idea of where to look. The two were fairly light hearted about the situation, thinking that Ethari had just lost track of time. They weren’t concerned until they saw the broken basket and blood on the ground.


	2. Dark Mage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me way too long to write even though I knew exactly what was supposed to happen. Not my greatest writing but IDK how to make it any better so I’m just posting it.
> 
> Edit: IDK if it tells you guys when I edit a chapter but one line just wasn’t right so I fixed it. I promise I won’t be going back and editing chapters often.

To Ethari’s surprise, he did wake up. Just not in Xadia. He was tied to the back of a horse moving quickly on an overgrown road in the human kingdoms. He had no way of knowing which one but he hoped it was Katolis, if it was there was a chance Runaan would find him.

He reached for his moon opal pendant, he had been too panicked to remember to use it before, but it wasn’t there. Of course the humans had taken it, they probably knew what it was or just didn’t want to risk it being magic. Muttering curses to himself he rubbed his aching head (an action made somewhat awkward by the fact that his hands were tied). When his hand brushed his horn he didn’t feel the familiar touch of cool metal. Had they taken his horn cuffs? Upon further inspection he discovered that they had. But, why? Maybe they had been worried that they were magic too.

The humans didn’t make camp that night. Instead the humans slept in shifts, one leading the other’s mount while the other slept. Ethari got no sleep, except passing out from exhaustion.

He knew the chance was slim but for the weeks of travel he clung to the hope that his heart would find him. He was constantly looking for any opening to escape but never even found a hint of one. Not even on the full moon. He spent the entirety of the night searching for a chance to escape and wondering if Runaan and Rayla were safe.

He’d told Runaan that Rayla was too goodhearted but Runaan, stubborn as he is, had refused to listen. Now he was wondering if that had put them in danger. He knew that Rayla would never intentionally put the team in danger but she was empathic and green, and that was a bad combination.

Three days after the full moon they stopped in a grassy clearing. The humans that had captured him seemed to be waiting for someone. Some time after sunset another human approached and Ethari’s blood ran cold. This human was a dark mage. He had expected he would encounter one at some point in this ordeal but it actually happening was still terrifying.

He took a step back, remembering Runaan’s tales of the few times he had encountered dark mages. One of the humans shoved him back towards the mage and he fell to the ground. He quickly got to his feet and glared at the mage. He was not going to show these humans any more weakness than he already had. The mage looked down his nose at him, or tried to. Ethari was at least an inch taller than him so it didn’t really work.

“Lord Viren, what do you think?” One of the humans asked. The mage eyed him up and down and he felt his blood run colder if that was even possible.

“I suppose he'll do, even if I just acquired one of the same age. I thought I specified younger but oh well. In any case I should be able to get my hands on a younger one soon enough.” If Ethari had been scared before it was nothing compared to the wave of dread he felt as the dark mage spoke. He knew exactly who the mage was talking about.

—————————————

When Viren entered the dungeon he was leading an elf who he promptly handed off to Claudia to be chained to the wall across from Gren. He felt a stab of empathy for the newcomer, even if he was an elf. 

Viren sighed and addressed him, “Five past nine. I apologize for my tardiness.”

Gren decided to give in to the temptation to be a bit snide, “It was only five minutes.” 

“So, what are your concerns?” Viren asked with an air of genuineness that they both knew was bullshit.

That tone made him turn the snideness up to eleven, “Well… You took me off the mission.”

“Hmm, noted. Go on.”

His already high levels of vexation increased with every word Viren said, “And you threw me in this dungeon.”

“Ah, I see. Anything else?” 

That maxed out both snideness and irritation, “Uh, no. But… No. I guess those are the main two.”

“Thank you. Your feedback is a gift.”

If he weren’t chained to the wall he would have killed him, consequences be damned. However since he was chained to the wall, and wouldn’t be able to defend himself if Viren attacked, he kept his yap shut.

Viren and Claudia discussed their elven prisoners for a time before they left. Gren found himself studying the elf across from him. His first instinct was to assume that he was an assassin but… this elf didn’t strike him as a killer. Once the mages were gone the elf sank to the floor and put his head down so that Gren couldn’t see his face.…Was he crying? He couldn’t really tell. Even in the almost total silence of Viren’s lair he barely made a sound. The only real indications that the elf was crying were seemingly sharper than normal breaths and his shoulders shaking.

After a while, Gren didn’t know how long, he decided to try to talk to the elf. Maybe it was an attempt to stave off boredom or maybe to just get both their minds off the situation. He didn’t know. Whatever the case he tried to start a conversation in the most logical way he could think of.

“I’m Gren, what’s your name?” The elf didn’t react. It wasn’t all that surprising really. He should’ve expected that the elf wouldn’t want to talk to a human. A long time passed, at least an hour, maybe two; time passes differently when you can’t see the sky. He was just wondering if Amaya was back at the breach yet when the elf spoke.

“Ethari.” he said quietly.

“What?”

“My name’s Ethari.”


	3. Forgiveness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to update, I got stuck half way through Runaan and Ethari’s conversation. Anyways updates will probably be less frequent because school is starting again this week. I hope you like the chapter and constructive criticism is still extremely welcome!

No! No no no no no! Ethari couldn’t be here! He was supposed to be safe! Back home in Silvergrove! Not here! Not where that mage could hurt him!

“My name’s Ethari.” His voice was clearer the second time he spoke and there was no way Runaan could deny it.

“No.” He breathed as his heart shattered. When he’d heard the mages talking about another moonshadow elf he’d known there was a chance they were from Silvergrove. He’d even known there was a chance he knew them. But he hadn’t expected it to be Ethari. 

The human tried to continue a conversation but Ethari didn’t respond. Time passed, it probably wasn’t that long but it felt like an eternity. Eventually he heard the human’s soft snoring and after a few more minutes Ethari spoke.

“Runaan?” His voice was quiet and more melancholy than Runaan had ever heard it.

“Ethari–” His voice nearly broke and he had to choke back a sobb. He took a deep breath to regain his composure. “Are you alright?”

“Mostly, I probably had a concussion but I’m fine.”

“What _happened_ Ethari? How did you get here?”

“I- I think it was about a week and a half after you left. I was going out to get Sun’s Tears and two humans ambushed me. When they knocked me out I-” he took a deep breath and continued, his voice a bit shakier. “I thought I wasn’t going to wake up. I thought that you and Rayla would come home and I’d be… gone.”

“Ethari I…” Runaan didn’t know what to say. What should you say in a situation like theirs?

Luckily for him he didn’t need to as Ethari asked, “What happened on the mission?”

Runaan sighed, “You were right. Rayla wasn’t ready. I- I’m sorry I didn’t listen.”

“ _What happened?_ ”

“She hesitated, she couldn’t kill a scout and we were discovered. I told her to stay behind because I knew that she would hesitate again. The rest of us continued the mission as planned. Rayla…” He sighed, this part would be hard explain even if he knew Ethari would understand. “She went in anyway. I don’t know how but she and the human princes found the egg of the dragon prince.”

“Really? I know you’d never lie to me but it’s hard to believe.”

Runaan gave a soft laugh, “I know, I wouldn’t have believed it but I saw it with my own eyes. She and the princes brought it up to the roof, where I was. She tried to get me to call off the mission, by her logic the egg was alive so no one needed to die. I reminded her that that’s not how it works.” He sighed, “When I told them to give me the egg Rayla told the princes to run. We fought for a bit before I realised she was stalling so that they could escape. After that I went to rejoin the others. We killed King Harrow, they were killed and I was captured.”

He didn’t linger on what had happened to his team. The pain of their loss was still raw. Ethari heard it in his voice and decided to focus on the first part of Runaan’s story instead, “So Rayla and the human princes have the egg?” 

“As far as I know. We can only hope that they’re trying to return it to Xadia. I doubt Rayla would have sided with them if they weren’t willing to take it home.”

“Yeah…” Ethari’s voice trailed off for a moment, as though he were thinking. Chains clinked as he shifted. “She’s going to get home and I won’t be there… They probably think I’m dead…” he trailed off again and it sounded like he was on the verge of tears.

“I promise you will get out of here,” Runaan said, he was an assassin, he had signed up for this. Ethari hadn’t, he was never supposed to be in danger. He might not be able to keep his promise to return his heart, but he would keep this one if it was the last thing he did.

—————————————

Callum, Rayla and Ezran had been walking for hours when they found the camp. It was just inside the trees at the base of the mountains. It didn’t appear to be abandoned, the occupants just weren’t there. Normally they would have left it alone and kept walking but something about it piqued their curiosity.

“It looks like whoever made this camp stole things from Xadia…” Rayla observed as she looked through the bags.

“Hey Rayla, do you have any idea what these are?” Ezran asked, he was holding up two oddly shaped metal tubes that looked like they would fit perfectly over an elf’s horns. One had a turquoise gem set in it.

The instant she saw them a look of shock and grief hit Rayla’s face. “No,” she whispered. She reached out a trembling hand for the tubes, which Ezran began to hand to her but she pulled back. As though whatever horrible thought had brought that look to her face would be true if she touched them. Her hesitation only lasted a moment however and she reached out again, pulling them close to her chest and dropping to her knees. Through her sobs they heard, “Ethari!”

The two humans glanced at each other, unsure of what to do. After a few moments Ezran asked, “What’s wrong?” to which her only response was to cry harder. Slowly Rayla’s sobbs turned to whimpers and eventually to silence, but the tears never stopped flowing.

“Rayla… what is it?” Callum asked

She stood, wiping tears from her eyes. “When my parents joined the Dragon Guard I went to live with Runaan and his husband, Ethari… These were his.” She began to cry again, “The only reason they would have these is if… is if they killed him!”

“Oh, Rayla… I’m so sorry.” Callum said as he and Ezran hugged her.

When Rayla stopped crying again Callum said, “We should go. I doubt they’ll like it if they come back and find us.”

“Yeah,” Ezran chimed in, “Besides if they steal stuff for dark magic we can’t risk them getting the egg.”

Rayla’s face hardened, “No.”

“What? You’re the one that keeps saying the most important thing is getting the egg back to Xadia.” Callum pointed out.

“Everything I’ve done so far could be forgiven. But knowingly letting Ethari’s murderers live? No. No one would ever forgive me for that. Keep going,” she pointed up the mountain at a cluster of boulders, “Wait for me there. If I don’t catch up, keep going without me. Get the egg home.”

The princes looked at each other before looking at Rayla again and walking off. Rayla jumped into a tree to lie in wait for the murderers’ return.


	4. Blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dang. Ok, I did NOT expect this story to get this heavy. I cried a bit when writing Rayla’s part which doesn’t usually happen. So yeah prepare for some tears. Sorry.
> 
> Also, what tags should I give this story?

Rayla felt woozy as she looked at the scene in front of her. Blood. There was so much blood. More than she had expected. More than Runaan had told her to expect. But… Runaan hadn’t told her what to expect when she killed someone had he?

She stumbled over to a bush and vomited. She didn’t feel any form of regret or guilt, she just felt sick. Sick that she had just killed the men that had murdered Ethari. He had been like a father to her. If they had killed him then why did she feel sick? She was an assassin, this was supposed to be her job.

_“I brought you because you’re talented. Maybe the fastest and strongest of any of us. But it takes more than that. There’s an instinct. A moment of truth. And in that moment, you hesitate… (I won't hesitate again!)... You will.”_

Runaan’s words echoed through her mind. He was right. She _had_ hesitated again and it nearly cost her her life. Just like how last time it probably cost Runaan his life. And Andromeda and Ram and Skor and Calisto… 

She’d been lucky to escape with nothing more than a gash on her arm. She’d heard the swish of the human’s blade about to swing into her neck and just barely parried in time. After that she _didn’t_ hesitate. She’d failed Runaan but she _would not_ fail Ethari. She wouldn’t fail anyone _ever again_. 

When she was done retching she went back to the stream they’d gotten a drink from earlier and rinsed her mouth. Then she washed off the blood. It felt like no matter how hard she scrubbed she could still see it on her hands. It was gone but it still felt like it was there. Why did she feel this way?! Why did she feel like she’d done something wrong?! She hadn’t! This time she had done everything right! _…This time…_

She couldn’t get the humans’ faces out of her head. They were so _cold_ , so unfeeling as they tried to _kill her_. Was that the last thing Ethari saw? A cold expressionless face before eternal nothing?

That thought broke her. She started crying again. She let herself scream and put voice to the pain that had been building for months. Her parents, Runaan, and now Ethari. Everyone was _gone_. _She had NO ONE_. At least Callum and Ezran had their aunt. From what she’d seen it looked like General Amaya would do anything to protect them. She envied them that.

Eventually, once she’d cried herself hoarse, she stood up. It was almost sunset and she had to get back to Callum and Ezran. It was over. Ethari’s killers were dead. Now she had to move on. 

She looked at her hands and found that she was holding his horn cuffs again. She breathed in and out as she slipped them on. She didn’t know why she put them on. Maybe it was to feel close to him. Maybe it gave her some sense of closure. Whatever the case she took one last look at her reflection in the gently running water. Then she turned and walked up the mountain, taking great care to avoid the bloody scene she had created. She didn’t think she could take seeing the bodies again.

—————————————

It was cold. Why was it so damn cold? Sure they were who knows how far underground and the mage used magic for lighting instead of torches but it still shouldn’t be so damn cold.

Honestly at this point Ethari would have been willing to huddle up with the human had the chains been long enough. He was glad he had his scarf, it was long enough to wrap around his shoulders so that was something.

“What’s it like in Xadia?” the human (Gren. He knew his name so he really should use it) asked. Ethari didn’t respond, the last thing he wanted to think about was home. Gren sighed, “Sorry, probably not the best conversation topic but I’m bored out of my mind and can’t think of anything else.”

Ethari snorted, “Believe me, I know the feeling. I hate having nothing to do.”

“So, what do you do? For work I mean.”

“I’m a Craftsman. I make weapons, jewelry, that sort of thing.” he had a sad smile on his face as he said, “I was forever tinkering with something or other. It’s my husband’s nickname for me, Tinker.” he sighed and decided to switch the question onto Gren, “I take it you’re some sort of soldier?”

“Yeah, I’m a commander with the Standing Battalion. I’m more of a diplomat than a fighter though.”

“If you’re a Katolian soldier how’d you end up here?”

He hesitated before he said, “The princes were kidnapped by the assassin that escaped. General Amaya put me in charge of the mission to look for them. Viren didn’t like that, he wanted someone he could control to be in charge.” he scoffed in clear irritation with the mage, “Amaya warned me he would pull something. I just thought he’d wait a bit, not act the literal second she was gone.”

There was silence for a bit before Gren realized, “Wait, how does a craftsman know off the top of his head that the Standing Battalion is Katolian?”

“I make weapons, remember? I regularly interact with people that need to know such things.”

There was another pause and then Gren seemed to have a moment of inspiration, “Do you think you would be able to make a lockpick out of a scrap of metal?”

“Where are you going to _get_ a scrap of metal?” Ethari asked incredulously

“Well I have a full suit of armor here I’m sure we’ll be able to get something with enough time.”

From his cell Runaan said, “We don’t have time. If we’re going to catch up with the human princes and the assassin we need to get out of here sooner rather than later.”

Gren startled when he spoke, he seemed to have forgotten that the assassin was there. “You don’t know your subordinate’s name?”

Runaan scoffed, “Of course I know her name. I’m just not going to tell _you_.”

“I already know Rayla’s name,” Both elves seemed surprised at that so he explained, “I heard Prince Callum say it at the Banther Lodge. And why were you talking like they’re on the same side?”

“Because, so far as I can tell, they are.”

“It certainly didn’t seem so at the Banther Lodge…” He paused seeming to mull something over, “…Though that would explain a few things. Why do you think they’re on the same side? You came here to kill Ezran and you killed their dad.”

“We did,” Runaan wasn’t one to sugar coat things, “and she was going to, but then they found something that changed things.”

“And what would that something be?” Gren got no response from either elf. He sighed, “Fine. Don’t tell me. If we work together I’ll find out anyways.”

Ethari sensed a spiteful retort from Runaan on it’s way so he cut in, “Back to the topic of the lockpick. Is there anything you can think of that would work?”

The soldier frowned, looking down at his armor, “… I guess the buckle of the cape strap, but it’s made of pretty sturdy metal that’s hard to bend.”

“Let me see.” Gren unhooked it and, with a rather loud rattling of chains, tossed it over. Turning the buckle over in his hands Ethari smiled, “It’ll take some time but I can _definitely_ work with this.”


	5. Ice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. Writing congruently with the story is boring, I have four overdue projects, am behind in every class, and grades were due Thursday. ADD is a bitch.

No one spoke when Rayla returned. Callum and Ezran had set up a fire since it had gotten dark and the temperature was dropping on the mountain. She just sat down next to it and pulled her knees up to her chest, staring into the crackling flames. 

She sat like that all night. Or at least Callum thought she did. She was still sitting like that when he and Ez woke up in the morning. He just hoped she had gotten some sleep.

Rayla took them on the most difficult paths she could find that day and Callum was certain that most, if not all, of them were game trails. As they were wading through what for Ezran was knee deep snow he finally spoke up about the difficulty of the trail,

“Rayla, can we slow down? It’s getting a little tricky.”

Rayla ignored him and kept going as though he hadn’t said anything. Callum reached back to pull his little brother onto the more solid bit they had just come to before turning back to her.

“Rayla! Come on! You’re the one who made us take this crazy route, at least let us keep up with you.”

Once again she ignored them.

Ezran flopped down in the snow, “I just need to put this down for a second and catch my breath.”

“There is a solution, you know,” Rayla snapped, “You can just let me carry the egg.” as Callum caught up with her she said, “You realize that I could just take it, right? I could take it from you any time I wanted.”

“Yeah, that’s good Rayla. Way to increase trust.”

“But I don’t. That’s the point!”

“Oh, well, congratulations! You haven’t killed us and taken the egg? You deserve a medal! You’re a hero!” Callum shouted. Neither teen noticed the ice above them cracking.

Ezran however did notice the ice, “Guys, you need to keep it down…” Neither of them heard him.

“I _should_ just take it! It’s what anyone else would do! I could return it to Xadia on my own and as a matter of fact I would be a hero!”

“Then what’s stopping you?! You murdered people yesterday! Why not just take it?!”

“Because it has to come from you! Human princes returning the egg to the Dragon Queen. That’s the gesture that matters! That could end the war! That could stop anyone from losing anyone else, and don’t you **dare** –”

“SHHH!” Ezran finally got their attention, “You guys need to stop fighting. Look!” he pointed up at the wall of ice which cracks were slowly creeping up, “All your yelling is cracking the ice. If we’re not careful we could start an avalanche. Got it?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Not a peep.”

“Good. It stopped cracking.” he walked in front of them and gave them a very serious double thumbs up before they all began walking again. Just at that moment Bait burped. Loudly.

Cracks spiderwebbed up the side of the mountain, dislodging a tidal wave of snow which came barreling towards them.

“Run!” Callum yelled and they began sprinting down the mountain. Pretty soon Ezran fell and rolled a short way before face planting in the snow. Rayla immediately stopped to help him up but when he grabbed her hand she recoiled in pain.

“What’s wrong with your hand?”

“It doesn’t matter, just run!” she said, dragging him along with her other hand.

“We’re not going to make it!” she exclaimed a few moments later as she looked over her shoulder.

That’s when Callum had an idea. He stopped and turned around, pulling out the primal stone.

“Callum, what are you doing?!” Ez asked

“Get behind me.” As soon as they did he drew the wind breath rune in the air and yelled, “Aspiro!”

For a moment it worked. The snow that would have buried them was held back by the wind. However Callum had only bought them a few seconds and as soon as his lungs were empty they were buried in the snow.

—————————————

Rayla muttered curses under her breath as she struggled to get out of the snow.

“Is everyone okay?” Callum asked

“Where’s that hiccuping, juice-thief frog?!” she growled as she landed on her feet. Farther up the mountain Bait poked his head out of the snow and shook off the snow on top of it.

“He’s right there, and he’s okay. We all made it!” Ezran said from his spot on a frozen lake. Then he noticed his bag was empty and looked around for the egg. It had rolled several feet away on the ice.

“I’ll go get the egg,” he said as he stood and carefully walked over to it. However as soon as he picked it up and turned to walk to shore the ice under him began to crack, he froze.

“Ez! Don’t move,” Callum called, “We’re coming to get you.” He set down his sketchbook and bag before carefully moving onto the ice. Rayla was a bit hesitant to follow him, but the ice was frozen so she did.

“Stay still, we’re almost there,” Callum said as he almost slipped and had to sit down and stooch across the ice to have any chance of reaching him. “Easy does it. Just pass it over.”

Carefully Ezran did. Callum took it gently and moved to make his way back to shore. The moment he got his feet under him the ice he was standing on began to crack too.

They froze, “What now?” Rayla asked, they were stuck. Neither prince could move and they didn’t trust her with the egg.

“Now…” Callum looked at it and seemed to come to a decision. “I’m gonna hand you the egg.” he looked up at her and held it out. “I’m sorry if I was a jerk before, Rayla. We’re lucky to have you as our friend. I do trust you, even with everything that’s happened.”

She froze. They shouldn’t trust her. They were right she wasn’t telling them the truth. She hadn’t told them everything. No matter how close she had come at times _she hadn’t told them_.

_“A half truth is just as bad as a lie.”_

Ethari had told her that when she was little. He’d been nagging her to do her homework, she said she’d done it. Which she _had_ , she just hadn’t _finished_ it. It had been a childish situation but his words came back to her and she felt the weight of his horn cuffs on her horns. Ethari would have told them by now. Even if it was hard, he would have told them.

“No, I- I don’t deserve your trust. You’re right, I haven’t told you everything.”

“Alright, but you can tell us later. Right now we need to focus on the situation,” Callum’s voice was calm and steady. She nodded, she would tell them as soon as they were off the ice. She reached out to take it and–

“Aahhh!” Pain exploded in her left hand and she instinctively pulled back. The egg plummeted through the ice, sinking into the frozen depths of the lake. She had forgotten about the binding. _She had forgotten about the sources cursed binding._

“You dropped it!”

“That was one of the things I was going to tell you, my hand’s trying to fall off!”

“Well you should have said something before!”

“Stop arguing!” Ezran snapped, always the voice of reason, “We have to do something!” he looked into the icy water and, with determination that would have impressed even Runaan, dove after the egg.

“Ez, no! Ezran!” Callum yelled and knelt next to the water, “I’m going in after him.”

He had both hands in the water before Rayla could pull him back, “Don’t!”

“What?! Why?!” Her hand screamed in agony as he struggled to get free from her grip.

“He’ll get it. He’ll save the egg. We have to believe in him. And we’re going to need to be up here to pull him out.”

“But he’s just a kid!” Callum snapped as he stood up

“He’s brave and strong. He can do it.” He yanked his arm from her grasp and went back to the edge of the water. He and Rayla looked over the edge with worry in their eyes.

“Come on! Come on!”

“It’s going to be okay. Ez will get it.”

Moments passed. They were long and tense. Rayla realized Ezran probably hadn’t trained to hold his breath for a long time. That combined with the body’s natural response to sudden cold…

“You were wrong,” Callum whispered, “He’s not coming back.”

The despair in his voice hurt. Rayla felt her own grief rise to the surface and threaten to spill over. Tears pricked the corner of her eyes. She placed her hand on his.

“I’m so sorry. I- I thought he would be able to…” Callum gasped and covered his mouth with his hand. He was processing that his little brother was gone. It was the same thing she had felt yesterday, dammit was it really only yesterday? Tears began to cloud her vision. Her eyes drifted from the hole in the ice to the binding on her wrist. She tugged at it.

“Why is it still tight?” She muttered to herself. It tightened and she winced. Wait! It tightened! “He’s alive! It’s still tight! Ez is still alive.”

“Wait, what? How do you know?” There was hope in his eyes, desperate hope. She stood and began scanning the ice for any sign of the young prince(s).

“It’s an assassin’s binding,” she explained quickly, “As long as Ezran is alive it’ll keep getting tighter.”

As they looked around frantically they heard knocking on the ice. They ran over to where it was coming from. Ezran was there, holding the egg and looking desperately up at them. Rayla pulled out her blade and began to hit the ice as hard as she could. One, two, three, four, five! The ice broke and Ez rose to the surface.

He didn’t immediately gasp for air. That was bad, she knew the signs of hypothermia and he was already displaying several. That was not good. She grabbed his hand that wasn’t clutching the egg and prayed that his grip on it wasn’t loosening. Callum grabbed her feet and dragged the three of them onto solid ice.

Ez’s grasp on the egg only loosened when he was fully on the ice and it rolled a short distance away. Callum wrapped him up in his arms.

“Ezran. Ez… Ez, you saved it. You got the egg back! You did it!” Rayla walked over to them, ready to do CPR or wrap him in a cloak or anything, “Please, Ezran, you gotta be okay. Just say something.” Callum’s voice was so _desperate_ it actually hurt.

A little breath escaped Ezran’s lips, condensing as soon as it touched air. His eyes flickered open and he started shivering. “I think I got a case of the frozie-toesies.”

Callum laughed in relief and Rayla swooped in to join their hug. Ezran looked at the egg over her shoulder. “Oh no.”

Immediately they looked. It was still glowing but much, much, dimmer. That _could not_ be a good sign.

“Something’s wrong with the egg.”


	6. Loss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once a week will probably be my usual update speed after next chapter.

Runaan didn’t like how friendly Ethari was being with the human. That being said, he wasn’t about to say anything about it, let alone try to stop it. If one or both of them didn’t make it out of this alive he didn’t want one of their last conversations to be an argument. Which is how such a conversation _would_ end, there was no doubt about that.

He also knew how bored he must be. Even with the task of making a lockpick. Tinker always liked to have someone to talk to when he worked. That ‘someone’ was usually Runaan. When it was, more often than not, it was less of a conversation and more Ethari talking at him while Runaan listened contentedly, which worked for both of them.

“What type of metal is this?” Ethari asked as he worked at turning the buckle into a lockpick, “I don’t think I’ve worked with it before.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s brass.” Came the reply, “It’s an alloy of copper and zinc.”

“What’s it usually used for?”

“Lots of things, buckles, telescopes, seals, cups, plates. You name it someone’s probably made it out of brass.” Ethari let out a small ‘huh’ and Gren asked, “What types of metal do you usually use?”

“Xadian steel and silver mostly. Xadian silver is especially good at holding enchantments. What’s your armor made of?”

“Regular steel with some brass accents. It’s heavy and not as maneuverable as most Xadian armor I’ve seen but I’d say the defensive trade off is worth it since you have enchanted weapons.”

Runaan rolled his eyes, that lack of maneuverability had cost a fair few soldiers their lives on the full moon. From what he had seen the defensive trade off was _not_ worth it.

“Fair enough.” Ethari said and asked “What Xadian armor have you seen?”

“The only type I’ve gotten a decent look at is Sunfire. Do you know what their power up thing is called? When their skin gets hot and their veins glow?”

“I’m pretty sure it’s called ‘heat-being mode’. Don’t know anything more about it though, I’ve never actually met a Sunfire that can use it.”

“‘Heat-being mode’.” Gren repeated, “Well it’s definitely an accurate description. It’s not fun to be on the receiving end of that’s for sure. You’ve got at most ten seconds to disengage and haul ass outta there before, at best, you’ve got some broken bones and nasty burns.”

Ethari snorted, “I don’t think that needed saying.”

And so they passed the hours, talking, trading questions and learning about each other's people. They carefully avoided any topics that were too personal or that could provide information for one side to use against the other such as military and details of politics. By the time the mage returned you could almost call them friends. Runaan wasn’t quite sure how he felt about that.

—————————————

When the mage entered he was carrying a plate of Xadian fruit. It took no stretch of the imagination to figure out what it was for. Did he really think he could get a Moonshadow elf assassin to talk with a plate of _fruit_?

The mage glanced at him as he walked to Runaan’s cell and Ethari wondered just what the mage had planned for him. He knew that he intended to use him for dark magic but what exactly was supposed to be his fate? _No, I don’t need to worry about that._ He told himself, _Runaan and I will be out of here before it matters. Then we can find Rayla and go home._

“If you don’t eat, you’ll die.” The mage said as if he were speaking to a child. In the back of his mind Ethari had known Runaan had refused food and water, it was part of the assassin’s code, but it was still jarring to truly _know_ it.

He took a quiet breath to calm himself, he had to think about this rationally. In the best case scenario an elf could survive two weeks without water. Runaan probably wasn’t a best case scenario so about a week or a week and a half. It had been five days since the full moon, he probably had about as many days left. That was fine, he would be done with the lockpick well before then.

As Ethari thought Runaan said, “I am already dead.”

“You don’t look dead. Though that hand has seen better days.” He felt a pit in his stomach at that. The only thing he would be able to do for his husband’s arm was cut it off and make a prosthetic.

The mage’s tone changed as he said, “I went out of my way to acquire some rare Xadian fruits. They’re remarkable. So strange and exotic.” the mage paused for a moment to see if Runaan would say anything before continuing, “And these Xadian oranges… no seeds. Incredible.”

There was another pause and a slight rattling of chains before the mage said, “No?” It sounded like he ate whatever he was offering to Runaan before he continued, “I understand the whole honor-in-not-eating thing, but at least drink something.”

Ethari heard the sound of liquid being poured into a cup which was presumably offered to Runaan. Another short pause, chains moving. The mage sounded frustrated when he said, “Don’t worry it’s berry juice.”

When he got no response the mage gave an exasperated sigh and seemed to decide to cut to the chase. “I have a proposition. I simply want you to take a look at an object, and tell me what it does. After that, I will unchain you and you can walk out of here.” Once again Runaan said nothing and the mage snapped, “ _Decide._ You can be free, or you can sit here and die.”

For a moment Ethari wondered if Runaan’s response would change from what his training dictated because of his presence. He didn’t have to wonder for long.

“I told you. I am already dead.”

The mage sighed, “Yes, wait a second. I think I’ve heard about this. It’s a Moonshadow elf thing, right? A philosophy of accepting you are already dead so you will not fear death.” Runaan’s silence seemed to be enough of an answer for him. “What a beautiful challenge you’ve given me.” The bastard said softly, “I must come up with something you will fear… more than death.”

That worried him. What would the mage come up with? _No. I don’t need to think about that._ He told himself, _Runaan and I will be out of here by day’s end and we’ll be safe._

Ethari glared at the ground as the mage made to leave. If he realized he had all the leverage he needed against Runaan… he didn’t even want to think about it.

The mage paused in front of him. “I wonder… does that philosophy extend to civilians as well? Because if it doesn’t I would consider adopting it.”

At that a chill ran down Ethari’s spine. What did the mage plan to do to him?

—————————————

In a cave high on the mountain side Callum asked, “So what did you need to tell us?” He was sitting next to Ezran who was curled up next to the fire with the egg.

Rayla took a deep breath. This wouldn’t be easy. She held up her wrist. “This is an assassin’s binding,” She began, “It’s a Moonshadow elf ritual. It binds me to take the life of Prince Ezran. As long as he’s alive it’ll keep getting tighter and tighter until I lose my hand.” Worry flashed across the two boys’ faces and she quickly continued, “That’s a price I’m willing to pay. If the price of peace and redemption is losing a hand then so be it.”

She paused for a moment, steeling herself for what she had to tell them.

“Is that it?” Callum asked

She took a deep breath, “No. That night when I came to the castle I… I had two bindings. We all did. One for Prince Ezran and… one for King Harrow. The one bound to the king’s life came off that night.” She took another breath as the realization began to dawn on their faces. “I’m sorry. Your father is dead.”

“N- no. He- he can’t be…” Tears started to well in Callum’s eyes as he looked at her.

“ _He can’t be gone!_ ” Ezran wailed and buried his face in his brother’s jacket. Rayla felt her own emotions begin to spill over and she looked down, tears falling into her lap.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. I- I just… I didn’t want to hurt you. _I am **so** sorry_. I know how much it hurts. I- I hope you can forgive me.”

They were all crying now. They had all lost their parents, or the people that might as well be. They were all orphans. They were all sad and hurt. They cried themselves to sleep that night in a pile of tears, human, elf and dragon egg.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last we’ll see of Team Zym for a while. I want to just cut to the chase with Gren, Runaan and Ethari so following them for three whole episodes is just adding pointless chapters since it plays out mostly the same.


	7. Screams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok I feel kind of bad about this but it’s been my plan from the beginning so...

Ethari almost had it. He was _so close_ to snapping the center bar of the buckle when they heard the distinctive sound of the staircase descending. His heart sank and he quickly hid the buckle in his sleeve.

When the mage entered he was carrying something. It was large and covered with a dark cloth. From what he could see of it, it was ornate, probably a mirror of some sort. It was also probably what he wanted to ask Runaan about.

The mage set it aside for now, instead turning towards his work table and picking something up. It was one of Ram’s knives. Ethari felt a stab of fear when he turned towards him which quickly proved to be justified. The mage pulled some unfortunate insect or something out of his pocket and crushed it in his fist.

“Ydob eht zeerf.”

He felt the dark magic encase him. He tried to move away but he couldn’t. Why couldn’t he move?! Panic rose in his throat as the mage grabbed his right arm. No matter how hard he tried _he couldn’t move_.

He would have said it was like he was paralyzed but when the mage drove the knife into his arm it _hurt_. He couldn’t hold back his yell of pain. As the knife scraped bone the yell turned into a scream. His upper arm radiated white-hot pain.

The knife hurt almost as much coming out as it did going in. Another scream tore from his throat. The mage set the knife aside and picked something else up, pressing it against his arm just below the cut. It was some sort of cup or beaker. Wa– was he collecting his blood?!

Ethari felt sick. Like he was going to vomit. Somehow he didn’t, maybe because the spell keeping him from moving still hadn’t worn off. When the mage stood he made sure to note where he put the container so that he could smash it on their way out. As long as he had a say in the matter he was _not_ going to be used for _any_ kind of dark magic.

Then the mage turned to the covered object and pushed it into Runaan’s cell.

“In a moment, I will remove this cover, and you will tell me what you know. Understood?” He said. Runaan said nothing. Ethari didn’t need to see his face to know it was full of rage.

After a moment the mage said, “I’ve brought something that I hope you will find… motivating.” There was a metallic clink of what was probably coins in a pouch.

“You’re more foolish than I thought.” Runaan snarled, “Only humans can be bribed.”

The spell freezing Ethari in place _finally_ wore off. He took his scarf and wrapped it tightly around the wound.

“Oh, this isn’t a bribe.” The mage upturned the bag of coins, letting them clatter to the ground. “It’s a threat. Go on. Take a closer look.”

The rage in Runaan’s voice was almost entirely eclipsed by horror. “You’re a monster.”

Ethari froze, what could he have shown him to get a reaction like that from _Runaan_?

“You’re mistaken. I’m a pragmatist.”

—————————————

The instant the mage left Runaan asked, “Ethari, are you alright?” It must have been impossible to miss the worry in his voice. It had killed him to keep quiet for so long.

“I’ll be fine Runaan. It’s just a cut.” Ethari said. He said it too quickly for it to be true.

“You don’t sound like that when you’re fine.”

“I said I will be fine, it’ll heal. I- It’s not that bad.” He was lying. They both knew it so why did he bother? It took less than a moment for Runaan to realize the answer to his question; he was lying to himself as much as to him.

The human finally said something, “Yes, it is that bad. That cut is _deep_.”

Ethari gave a frustrated sigh, “Worry about me when we get out of here.” he snapped.

“That’s part of _why_ I’m worried. How can you finish making the lockpick when your arm is injured?”

They both paused, Runaan hadn’t thought of that and clearly neither had Ethari. After a moment he said, “You’ll have to do it. It shouldn’t be too hard, just break the center bar, bend it out, and make a bit of a hook on the end.”

“Alright.” There was a significant rattling of chains as Ethari tossed the buckle back to the human.

Once the human was successfully working on the lockpick Ethari asked Runaan, “What did he show you?”

He didn’t respond. How was he supposed to tell him? How was he supposed to explain something he could barely wrap his own mind around?

“Runaan if you don’t tell me–!”

“Coins.” His voice was barely more than a whisper. “He trapped them in coins.”

“Wh– what?”

“He trapped Tiadrin and Lain in coins.”

“ _What?_ ” Ethari was in as much disbelief as he was. His voice was full of shock, confusion, and grief. “B- but how? If they ran away…”

“They didn’t.” The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. They had Ghosted their best friends _because of a lie_. They _hadn’t_ run. They had stayed and fought and been captured, _and they had Ghosted them for it. They had let Rayla Ghost her own parents for being captured._ They had suffered a fate worse than death and Runaan was probably going to join them.

—————————————

It took Ethari a long time to process everything. He was still processing an hour or two later when Gren said,

“I think it’s done, how does this look?” He held up the buckle that was now – finally – a lockpick. He had bent the center bar outwards and bent the end just as instructed.

“It looks good. You should–” He was cut off by the unmistakable rumbling of that damned staircase descending. Horror filled his bones. They were out of time. _Runaan_ was out of time.

Gren hid the lockpick. The mage descended the stairs and walked to Runaan’s cell without sparing them so much as a glance. He was carrying a bowl. Ethari didn’t want to know what it held.

“Enough brooding, elf. My patience wears thin.” The mage said. There was a sound of cloth moving, probably removing the cover from whatever he wanted Runaan to tell him about, as he continued, “Tell me what you know about this relic or I _will_ seal your fate.”

There was a short pause before Runaan said, “You have succeeded.” He sounded scared. Genuinely, truly, _afraid_.

The last time Ethari had heard genuine fear in his husband’s voice was when a deadly illness swept through the Silvergrove and fallen he’d ill. He hadn’t been doing well and they thought he was going to die. This wasn’t the same kind of fear. There was no note of worry or panic, only dread.

“Oh, have I?”

“That mirror? You have found something worse than death.”

“Then, tell me. _What is it?_ ”

Runaan hesitated.

 _Please, Runaan, just tell him_ something, **anything** , _he’ll believe._ Ethari begged silently, _PLEASE!_

When he spoke his voice was quiet and though everyone in the dungeon heard it, his words were meant solely for Ethari. “I’m sorry my heart.” Then he snarled at the mage, “ _I will never help you._ ”

“Then you are of no use to me.”

_No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no! NO! **RUNAAN! NO!**_

The mage began chanting, “Erusaert ym si lous ruoy. Erusaert ym si lous ruoy. Erusaert ym si lous ruoy.”

Runaan gasped. A sickening purple glow shined from his cell. He cried out, struggling against what the mage was doing to him. And then he screamed. He screamed and screamed, getting louder and louder.

He tried to drown them out but they echoed through the catacombs of Katolis Castle. There was _nothing_ he could do. He couldn’t even see his husband’s face one last time, the chains wouldn’t allow it. The last time he saw Runaan would forever be the day he saw him off in Silvergrove.

Ethari put his head down and sobbed. He knew that Runaan’s screams would haunt him forever. That he would never completely escape the dark mage’s lair. The screams were cut off abruptly and he knew his heart was gone. Sealed away in a prison of dark magic, likely never to be returned.

Slow, deliberate, footsteps approached, “I always seem to capture the same expression.” The mage said, “Defiance, giving way to absolute fear.”

He couldn’t bring himself to look. He just kept crying. He heard the mage turn, then chuckle.

“Care to see, elf?” He taunted. Footsteps, cloth rustling, then the clink of metal on stone as he set the coins that trapped his family in front of him. One, two, three. Runaan, Tiadrin, Lain. He didn’t look. He _couldn’t_ look. He didn’t have enough strength left to look.

The mage grabbed one of his horns and forced his head up so that he _had_ to look.

“Ethari?!” Lain mouthed, a look of horror on his face

Tiadrin stared in shock for a moment before pressing her hands against the front of the coin and mouthing, “Run! RUN!”

It wasn’t seeing either of them that broke him. It was Runaan, and the look of absolute despair on his face as his lips moved to say, “I’m sorry I couldn’t return your heart to you.” The sobbs that he had only just gotten under control began again, almost worse than before. That’s when the mage finally put two and two together. He wrenched his head up so that he was looking at his corrupted face.

“They meant something to you, didn’t they?” He didn’t respond, he just tried to get his breathing under control. The mage gave a frustrated half sigh, half growl, “That would have been useful to know sooner. Perhaps I could have gotten something out of the assassin.”

Ethari glared at him, tears still streaming down his face and breath still erratic. He’d never hated anyone before. Dislike, sure, but never hate. As he looked at the dark mage’s corrupted features; those black eyes, his cracked, grey, skin, he knew he hated Katolis’s high mage. Rage bubbled up inside him, this human had taken everything from him. His heart, his friends, _his family_.

“ _Go to hell_.” He snarled.

The mage shoved his head hard against the stone. Then he turned and stalked out of the dungeon. As Ethari’s eyes drifted back to the coins his rage faded. He put his head in his hands and sobbed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...sorry?
> 
> Runaan being there adds too many scenes that I struggle to write. I also don’t write chronologically so I have a decent portion of the scenes written where he’s in the coin and none written where he’s not.


	8. Bitter Sweet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, this chapter kicked my ass. I knew exactly where I needed to go but had no idea how to get from point A to point B. The writing quality of Gren’s POV will probably be worse than usual. I also had a lot going on and I had a new story idea which my brain is refusing to put down.

For several minutes after Viren left Gren just sat there in shock. What he had done to Runaan… He killed King Harrow, yes, but no one deserved that.

And Ethari’s reaction… He never thought he’d see a Moonshadow elf break but right now he looked so very _broken_. Just sitting there sobbing. He remembered the times he’d had to inform a family that their loved one had died and the way that some people seemed to just break. Like their hearts were shattered into a million pieces. He looked like that.

Gren wondered who Runaan, Tiadrin and Lain were to him. Friends? Siblings? They were definitely people he considered family. Runaan had said ‘I’m sorry my heart’. Had he been talking to Ethari? Was he the husband he’d mentioned?

He took a deep breath. He needed to focus, they still had to get out of there. He pulled out the lockpick and inserted it into the keyhole. He’d never picked a lock before in his life but he sure as hell was going to try.

After several minutes of fiddling he heard a satisfying click and the chain fell away from his wrist. He stretched his arm, it was _stiff_. More than he’d expected, but he had no idea how long they’d been down there so maybe should have expected it. After a moment he repeated the process with the other chain.

Then he went over to the still sobbing elf, “Ethari? Come on, we’ve got go.”

He didn’t respond but seemed to try and get his breathing under control. Gren hesitated for a moment before reaching out and grabbing the hand of his uninjured arm to pick the lock of the chain. He didn’t resist.

By the time they heard the click of the chain unlocking Ethari had (mostly) regained his composure. He winced when Gren moved to pick the lock of the chain that bound his injured arm. Even in the low light he could see that it had completely bled through the scarf which, while unsurprising, was not a good sign.

When the last chain opened Ethari let out a deep, shuddering, breath. He reached out and picked up the coins that trapped the other three elves. His family. Gren had already made the connection but it was still… jarring.

“I promise I’ll find a way to get you out of there.” Ethari said to them before carefully slipping them into his pocket. Then he stood, tears still streamed down his face. It was startling how similar human grief and elf grief were.

He didn’t say a word as he went over to the worktable and smashed the vial of blood Viren had taken from him. Gren didn’t ask why, everyone knew elves hated dark magic. Being used as _part_ of a dark magic spell was probably unthinkable.

Once he was certain the blood wasn’t going to be doing anything but staining the floor Ethari asked, “Do you have any idea where he put Runaan’s bowblade?”

That startled Gren a bit. It made sense, Ethari had presumably made it himself. He had made the weapon that had killed King Harrow. He wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about that realization.

“No, I wasn’t here much longer than you.” He wasn’t lying, he’d barely been there twenty minutes before Viren entered with Ethari.

Ethari looked through the archway opposite Runaan’s cell. He took a deep breath and walked through.

“Wait, where are you going?” Gren asked and began to follow him.

“I’m not wandering around the human kingdoms without a weapon I know how to use.”

That was fair enough but they still didn’t know what was down there. He was about to say as much when Ethari opened the door at the end of the short hallway. Inside the room were the weapons of the assassins… and four jars of what were clearly their ashes.

Ethari’s face was unreadable as he looked at the room. After a moment he sighed and went over to the weapons. He ran a hand over every one of them before picking up one of the two bows. Instead of wood the bow consisted of two swords joined at the hilt with a string that extended from the tips of the two swords. The name ‘bowblade’ finally made sense.

Carefully Ethari swung the bowblade and one of the quivers over his shoulder. He hesitated for a moment before taking the arrows from the other quiver as well. Then he turned to the jars of ashes. He picked up the first two and reached for another but it was clear he couldn’t carry them all. Gren went over to help.

“Let’s get out of here.”

—————————————

When Ethari stepped out into the light of the moon he felt its strength fill him. He was relieved that he was out of that place, that he could go home, but it did nothing to fix the hollow feeling in his chest. The Runaan shaped hole in his heart. It was a physical ache that was almost worse than the pain in his arm.

_At least there’s a chance I’ll see him again._

The thought was a bitter sweet one as he was more aware than ever of the jars of ashes in his hands. Andromeda, Ram, Skor, and Calisto didn’t have a chance of returning home. Or of getting proper funerals. It was the risk they took as assassins but he could give them some semblance of it at least.

The exit they found had let them out at the base of the cliff Katolis Castle sat on. There was a thin strip of stoney beach then a body of water that he couldn’t tell whether it was a moat or a river (probably the latter since the water was moving) and the forest on the other side. A few stubborn plants grew on the beach, including a rather gnarled looking camellia bush.

With a sigh he set down the jars. He picked the four most beautiful flowers the bush had to offer. Gren looked like he wanted to ask what he was doing but thankfully he didn’t. He just set down the two jars he’d been carrying next to the ones Ethari had set down. He sent him a weak smile of gratitude before returning to his task.

The jars weren’t labeled. Instead of pouring the ashes into the water one at a time as would have normally been done, he poured all four into the water at once. As the ash began to drift down stream he placed the first camellia on the water. 

“Calisto… you were a good friend. I didn’t know you that well but I can say that much at least. You’d probably be yelling at me to get something better for my arm and stop worrying about you but that just proves my point. They’re going to miss you more than you probably ever realized.”

He put the next flower on the water, “Skor, you cared so much about your family. I can’t imagine how Idunita must be feeling right now… I’ll make sure she knows what happened. I’ll make sure she knows why.”

The next flower went on the water. “Ram… I’ll be honest I don’t really know what to say for you. I never really met you outside of making your knives and bow, since, before Rayla, you were the newest addition to the team. I guess I’ll just say, I know you’ll be missed by those who did know you.”

He placed the final flower on the water, “Andromeda, not many people with your heart could do the work of an assassin. Rayla certinely couldn’t. I’m still not sure how I feel about being right about that. On the one hand you all are gone because she couldn’t kill that scout. And on the other, you probably wouldn’t have found the egg of the Dragon Prince if the mission had gone as planned. A child would have died for no reason. I know you wouldn’t have wanted that.”

He sighed, “I’m sorry I couldn’t give you something better, but it’s more than the nothing you would have gotten from that mage. Your deaths won’t have been for nothing. Rayla and the human Princes are working together to bring the Dragon Prince home. It’s a chance for peace no one could have imagined. If they can make it to the Storm Spire before war breaks out you will be some of the last to lose their lives in this conflict.”

Ethari had never felt more hollow in his entire life. Holding a funeral for people he only really knew on a professional level while his husband, their commander, sat trapped in a coin in his pocket. He’d met them often enough outside work that he was something more than acquaintances with all of them accept Ram. He’d known Skor the best but that was only because of his friendship with Idunita.

He hadn’t realized he was crying until Gren put a hand on his shoulder. He looked back at him. His expression was understanding, if not sympathetic. For the first time Ethari really realized that to him they hadn’t been people. To him they’d been nothing more the enemy and the people who had killed his king. Had watching Ethari give them a funeral changed that? From the look on his face it seemed like it had, if only a bit.

Belatedly he realized that Gren, a human soldier he’d met not even three days before, had seen more raw grief and emotion form him than anyone else in the world. Not even Runaan had seen him cry as hard as he had in that dungeon.

“Come on.” he said, “We need to move if we’re going to catch up with them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know why but my favorite dragon prince characters are always the ones with the least screen time/ characterization (read: Ethari & the assassin squad). The characterization of the assassins in this came mostly from ‘Sides of the Moon’ by Kuno as that story is where I first met them.
> 
> Oh, I forgot to mention, I made a few illustrations for this story. Check them out on DeviantArt @KittenSmitten42. I haven’t posted most of them yet as a lot are scenes from later chapters but I do have two up.


	9. Purple Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again I didn’t know the words I needed to get from point A to point B even though I knew exactly what needed to happen. I really hope I stop having this problem soon.

Though there were plenty of rocks sticking out of the water crossing the river proved to be quite difficult. Ethari only really had the use of one arm and, since it was his non-dominant hand, he kept forgetting. It hurt a _lot_ every time he moved his right arm. Luckily he never got as far as putting weight on it. The fact that pretty much his whole body was some level of stiff or aching didn’t help either.

Gren had almost as much trouble since he was half blind due to the lack of light. He tripped on a tree root before they were even three steps away from the riverbank.

“Is human night vision really that bad?” Ethari asked as he helped him up.

“ _Yes_. That glowstone that was at the end of the hall got rid of however adapted to the dark my eyes were so right now I’m pretty much blind. How are you not having the same problem?”

“Moonshadow elves are naturally nocturnal. Our eyes adapt to low light quickly and we have excellent night vision.”

“Guess you’re like a cat in more ways than one…” Gren muttered as they continued to move away from the Crown Guards’ patrol path.

“What?”

“Oh, uh…” He seemed a bit flustered, as if he hadn’t meant to make the comment aloud. “Sorry if it’s kind of rude. It’s just, earlier I noticed how your ear twitched when a bug landed on it and it kind of reminded me of a cat. Sorry, it’s just a stupid observation.”

Ethari paused for a moment, for the first time considering the point. It was an interesting thought. Especially since he knew quite a few people that were catlike in more ways than just the ones Gren had pointed out. Eventually he said, “I mean… you’re not _wrong_.”

Gren laughed. Then he laughed some more and Ethari wasn’t sure what he had found so funny.

“Why are you laughing?” he asked.

“You’re the first elf I’ve been within ten feet of that hasn't tried to kill me and we’re talking about how elves are like cats. It just seems… silly.”

Ethari could see the humor in the situation but couldn’t find it in him to laugh. His thoughts about people he knew who were like cats had inevitably led back to Runaan and how, for now at least, he was gone. Though the hollow feeling had ebbed for a time it was now back and making itself very hard to ignore. “It is pretty ridiculous.” Was all he said.

They continued walking in silence for a time before stopping when Gren deemed they were far enough away from the castle to not be discovered if they made a campfire.

“I’m going to go back to the castle to get horses and supplies. I shouldn’t be too long.” Ethari nodded and he turned to leave, however he seemed to remember something and asked, “How tall are you?”

That was rather random so Ethari asked, “Why?”

“Well you’ll need a bed roll and I figure you could probably do with a change of clothes too.”

He was not wrong about that. Ethari had been wearing the same clothes since he’d been taken and they were not only incredibly dirty but now covered in blood.

“With or without horns?”

“What?”

“How tall I am, elves count it both ways.”

“Uh…” Gren paused and Ethari realized he probably hadn’t thought there would be a difference. “Without, I guess?”

“Six foot three.” As Gren turned to leave again Ethari remembered something rather important, “By the way moonshadow elves are vegetarian.”

Gren stopped and turned around again, fixing him with a look of incredulous confusion. “ _That doesn’t make any sense_. I know for a fact that other types of elves can eat meat. If you’re the same species how come they can eat meat and you can’t?”

Ethari shrugged, “I don’t know, it’s just how our biology works. We _can_ eat meat we just shouldn’t too often.”

Gren muttered something he didn’t quite catch and asked, “Is there anything else I should know? Does your arm need different treatment than a human would or something?”

“I don’t think so. Whatever you can get should be fine.”

“Great. I’ll be back in an hour or two. Could you set up a fire so that I can see when I get back?”

“Sure.” With that Gren left (but not before tripping over another rock).

————————————

It took Ethari longer than it normally would have to set up the fire. Having to work with only his left hand was going to be a pain. Hopefully not one he’d have to endure for the rest of his life. He sighed, shoving the thought away. When he got home he’d have Amir take a look at it. His older brother was one of the best healers the Silvergrove had to offer and while he could be annoying with his fretting whenever he was injured or ill this time he would be greatful for it. _Nothing_ was going to get past Amir with the possibly debilitating nature of this injury.

Once he was done setting up the fire he looked around, getting a feel for his surroundings and knocking an arrow on the string of Runaan’s bow. He should still be able to draw it even if it would hurt like hell. He _wanted_ to trust Gren but… He was still a human soldier. Even if he was ‘more of a diplomat than a fighter’ as he claimed it was still likely he’d killed more than a few elves. And as much as he wanted to believe he wouldn’t after saving him from that dark mage there was still a chance he would betray him.

The thought hadn’t occurred to him in the dungeon because Gren had been _there_. Chained to the wall across from him and seeming so genuine and kind. Now that he wasn’t there though the thought crept in and planted itself firmly in his mind. In the end he decided to hide in a tree for the time being. It was the most logical move to make even if he did trust him. Who knew who was wandering around the forest? His position was concealed, defensible, and he could flee relatively easily if he had to.

As he sat on the branch he pulled out one of the coins to distract himself from his worries. It was Tiadrin. Almost immediately she asked, “Are you safe?”

He sighed and said quietly, “As safe as I can be right now. Can you hear me?”

She shook her head, “No, but I know you well enough to read your lips. Just speak clearly and I should be able to understand. What happened? Where are you?”

Ethari sighed and began to recount his tale, “I was going out to get Sun’s Tears when two humans ambushed me. I tried to get away but they knocked me out. I guess they put some sort of sleep spell on me or something because when I woke up we weren’t in Xadia.” he took a deep breath, even as he left out Runaan it was all more painful than he’d care to admit. “They sold me to Katolis’ High Mage to use in his dark magic.” Tiadrin’s hands flew to her mouth in a silent, horrified, gasp. People that were kidnapped and made it as far as meeting a dark mage never came home. Not even in pieces. 

He continued, “I got lucky. He had chained up a human soldier there because of political shananegins and he helped me escape. Right now I’m in the forest outside Katolis castle.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Tiadrin gave him an extremely skeptical look and made a gesture that was presumably indicating the scarf still wrapped tightly around his arm. “Okay, maybe I’m not fine, but I’ll be alright.”

She seemed unsatisfied with his answer but moved on anyway, “What about Runaan? Why were you crying earlier? Where’s the human now? How long has it been since the human king killed King Avizandum? And the egg of the Dragon Prince is alive! I managed to convince the dark mage not to destroy it!”

“I know it’s alive Tiadrin. It’s been a little over four months since the King’s death. Everything that’s happened in that time is too complicated to explain without writing it down so you don’t misunderstand anything. The human, Gren, is getting suplies to patch up my arm—”

She interrupted him, “You’re trusting the human?! Ethari even if—”

“I’m not stupid Tiadrin.” he snapped, “I know I shouldn’t trust him, and I don’t really, but he could have just left me there. It would have been easier for him to leave me there but he _didn’t_. I also need his help. The cut on my arm is worse than I’d care to admit and human medical supplies are better than no medical supplies.”

She sighed, “I’m sorry. You know the situation better than I do and you’re the one living it. I shouldn’t have questioned your judgement.”

“It’s alright Tia, I’d question my sanity to. But I don’t think I’m making a mistake by trusting Gren. I hope not anyways.” She looked mildly annoyed at his use of the nickname she hated. The half-hearted glare she gave him reminded him just how much he missed his friends.

She began to speak again but he missed what she said as a purple glow illuminated the sky. He couldn’t see it that well through the canopy but it definitely wasn’t natural. What was it? He couldn’t climb higher to see with his arm such a mess. Hopefully Gren was getting a better look at it wherever he was.

He glanced back down at Tiadrin, “Ethari what is that?!” she demanded

“I don’t know. I’m not entirely sure I _want_ to know.” he sighed, “There’s no point in worrying about it since we don’t have a way of getting answers. What were you saying before?”

“What happened to Runaan? I know he was there, I saw him. Do you know what happened? Did you even know he was there? And why was he there? You didn’t mention him in your story earlier.”

“Runaan…” He sighed, _Damnit Runaan why do you have to be such a stubborn idiot?_ “Most of what happened to him has to do with the complicated explanation but… the mage trapped him in a coin, like he did to you. He refused to give him information about some magical artifact he’d stolen.”

Tiadrin looked heartbroken at his words. “Ethari… I… I’m so sorry… I can’t imagine…” She seemed unable to find the words to express her grief. She didn’t need to, he knew.

“I’m going to find a way to get you out of there.” he spoke with such conviction she probably didn’t have to hear him to see it. “If it takes me the rest of my life I’m going to find a way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of people seem to think that Tiadrin and Lain haven’t been home in years but that doesn’t make much sense to me. Being part of the Dragonguard is essentially just another military position. They have to spend most of their time at the Storm Spire sure but they’d still have leave at least once a year. In my mind it’s been at most a year and a half since they’ve visited the Silvergrove.
> 
> Ethari has no cannon height other than “just a little bit taller” than Runaan so I made it up. I will change it if we find out how tall he actually is. And I’ll change Amir form being his brother to being his friend if we find out more about Ethari’s family too. You may be wondering why I bothered mentioning Amir at all but I promise he and Idunita will be important when we get to the Silvergrove.
> 
> Also, the thing with elves being like cats is a genuine observation of mine and I’m surprised there hasn’t been a scene where Callum stumbles over telling Rayla as much in canon. I guess none of the writers have cats or something. It didn’t fit with what I plan to have going on with Team Zym and I needed something for Gren and Ethari to talk about so I gave it to them instead.
> 
> Also also, Gren’s reaction to finding out Moonshadow elves are vegetarian was my reaction to finding out Moonshadow elves are vegetarian. It makes no sense that some types of elves can eat meat and others can’t _when they’re the same species_. Nor does it make sense on a cultural level as Moonshadow elves are clearly not pacifists and I can see no reason why they would have an aversion to killing animals.
> 
> And I have gone on too many tangents... Oh well, that’s ADHD for you.


	10. Treating Wounds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, the creative writing project I’m actually getting a grade on took priority.

Gren swore as he nearly tripped _again_. The full moon was barely a week ago, why was it so dark? He was leading two horses; his own warhorse, a stubborn mare named Dila, and an easy going stallion named Agir, who was a training horse and wouldn’t be too sorely missed. They at least seemed to be having less trouble with the terrain than he was.

When he returned to where he had left Ethari he found an unlit campfire but no elf.

“Uh… Ethari? Where’d you go?”

For a moment he got no response. Then he heard leaves rustling and turned in time to see Ethari drop from a low branch of a nearby tree.

“How did you get up there?” He asked, having not thought it possible to climb with an arm you couldn’t move.

“When dealing with Moonshadow children it’s pretty much a requirement that you be able to climb one handed.”

As he tethered Daila and Agir to a tree Gren asked, “Why’s that?”

“Because most of the games kids play involve climbing trees and, at least the ones I’ve spent the most time dealing with, tend to refuse to come down when it’s time to go home.”

Gren snorted as he grabbed the flint and steel, med kits and a few other things. Of the med kits there were two, the standard military one and the elven one the Crown Guard had found in the assassins’ camp. He had grabbed the elven one under the assumption that Ethari would know how to use what was in it. Walking over to the fire he asked, “Do you have kids?”

Ethari hesitated, as though he were thinking about the answer. Gren had gotten the fire started by the time he spoke.

“Sort of. My husband and I raised our best friends’ daughter because their work was far away and they couldn’t take her with them.”

He didn’t fail to notice how deliberately vague he had been. He didn’t blame him considering the experience he’d had with humans so far. Deciding not to press, he unclipped the sword he’d taken from his belt and sat next to the fire. “Let me take a look at your arm.”

Ethari walked over to the fire and paused, eyes fixed on the elven med kit. “That’s Calisto’s.”

Gren shifted uncomfortably, “Well, the Crown Guard found the assassins’ camp after the full moon and they weren’t just going to leave enemy supplies out there for civilians to find. I found it in the med wing and figured it’d be better than whatever us humans have so…”

Ethari sighed and sat down, “It’s fine. Like I said, he’d be yelling at me to get some form of medical attention for my arm.” He reached up and pulled the now thoroughly blood soaked scarf off his arm, wincing as he did so. Then he pulled his arm bands off as well.

Gren hissed in sympathy when he finally got a good look at the wound. It was about three inches long, just on and below his shoulder. It had begun to clot and had the beginnings of a decent scab going but would definitely need stitches. It looked like it hurt a lot. Luckily the scabbing had stemmed the flow of blood. He quickly pulled open the military med kit and grabbed the bottle of boiled water used for cleaning wounds.

“Hold out your arm.” he instructed. Ethari did so and Gren held his arm steady while he poured the water over his arm. In doing so he noticed several bruises on his arm and vaguely wondered what they were from. As the blood washed away they finally saw how deep it was, the white of bone being clearly visible in the wound.

Gren opened the elven med kit, only to find that it was empty except for two jars and a truly ludacris amount of bandages. The jars were labeled in Elven but the script was accompanied by illustrations of the plants the contents presumably was made of. One was a leaf and the other was a dappled yellow and pink flower.

Ethari snorted bitterly when he saw the jars. “The irony of _Sun’s Tears_ of being one of the only things they left in there…”

“What?” Gren asked

“I was looking for the ingredients of that salve when they took me.” he said, indicating the jar with the flower on it.

“So, do you know how to use it? I don’t.”

He sighed, “It’s pretty much only good for minor injuries. It’ll barely do anything for my arm but it’s better than nothing. It’ll stave off infection and maybe speed the healing a bit. It should go on after the stitches. The other one is an anesthetic, though not a very strong one.”

“So anesthetic first.” Gren said as he fumbled with the forign latch of the lid. With his good arm Ethari reached out and showed him how to open it. He seemed amused at his struggling with something that must be so simple to him.

Ethari tensed for a moment as he spread the anesthetic over the area around the injury but quickly relaxed as it started working. Gren paused to take off his gloves before stitching his arm, he’d had the training and even actually done it a few times, but it had been a while.

They sat in silence as he worked. Gren was too focused on what he was doing to even think about anything else, let alone say something. He carefully tied off the stitches and reached for the Sun’s Tears. It was a semi translucent light orange color, he’d never seen anything like it. As he finished applying it to the cut he had the thought to put some on Ethari’s bruises. Ethari tensed a bit when he did so but didn’t say anything.

Wrapping the bandages proved to be a bit of a challenge. The cut was a bit too high to just wrap it around his arm so it had to go over his shoulder too. Luckily Ethari knew a technique for wrapping grips that translated well enough they were able to do it without it being uncomfortable.

Once that was done Gren passed him one of the bags. Ethari looked puzzled by this so he explained, “Change of clothes. They might not fit well but I tried.”

“Thanks.” Ethari smiled. It was a look of genuine and deep gratitude. Gren realized it was the first time he’d seen him smile without it being clouded by any other emotion. He returned the smile as Ethari stood to go change.

As he walked off Gren realized he should probably change too. He hadn’t taken his armor off in days and all his muscles ached. He untied the vambraces and began pulling everything off. The second the pauldrons, gorget, and rebraces were off he let out a sigh of relief. Normally they weren’t too annoying but after wearing them for three days straight he never wanted to put them on again.

Once he was down to just the shirt and pants he flopped back in the grass and groaned, staring up at the night sky. He hadn’t even realized how tired he was. Or hungry, for that matter, but the food was still in the packs and he didn’t feel like getting up. He shut his eyes and passed out.

—————————————

When Ethari returned, his hair and formerly dirty clothes wet from finding a stream to wash in, Gren had fallen asleep next to the fire. The clothes he had gotten him were a bit small, the shirt being tight around the shoulders with the sleeves only coming to a bit past the middle of his forearm and the pants clearly being intended for someone shorter, but he honestly couldn’t complain. They weren’t so small they were going to tear and they weren’t all that uncomfortable. Hanging his things on a tree branch to dry, he was quite tempted to join him by the fire. Hunger won out though, and he went over to the horses the soldier had acquired.

He was careful to approach them from the front, though they wore no armor he could tell these were creatures bred for war. He also wasn’t sure if they had been trained to recognize elves. He considered the idea unlikely, they’d had no reaction to him earlier and he doubted Gren would bring a mount that would attack him, but he wasn’t about to take any chances.

The smaller horse’s ears went back and it cocked a hind hoof as he drew near. _That_ signal was clear enough so he backed off and tried his luck with the larger one. He, for the creature was quite obviously male, appeared to be a different breed than the smaller horse and had a much more subdued temper. He didn’t even bat an eye when Ethari moved around to the packs on his back.

The first pack he opened contained a small book, a map, a compas, several waterskins, and a bundle of cloth that proved to contain several rolls. He grabbed one roll and put the rest away, figuring it best to assume they didn’t have anything else until proven otherwise. As he walked back to the fire and sat down he had the thought to pull out the cloak and gloves that had been in the bottom of the bag Gren had given him and put them on. If someone stumbled across them he didn’t want to be recognized as an elf.

Sitting there, letting the scents and sounds of the night roll in as he ate, it was peaceful. Crickets chirped, the fire crackled softly, in the distance he could hear the gentle bubbling of the stream. Somewhere in the trees an owl made itself known to its prey. The small creature squeaked and attempted futilely to escape.

Inhale.

Exhale.

The scents of the earth were different from those in Xadia and it was a painful reminder of just how far from home he was. It wasn’t the first time he’d noticed, mindfulness and meditation had been the only things to keep him sane when he was in the captivity of those smugglers.

He did his best to shove his thoughts away as he continued to listen to the night. Soon enough though he found himself dozing off as exhaustion caught up with him. He laid down and shut his eyes for what he hoped would finally be a restful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dila is a Friesian like breed and has a sort of dark russet colored coat. Agir is a Shire Horse like breed and is black with white socks and a white star on his forehead. They’re not the exact breed because I assume that, as with humans, the horse breeds that exist in our world don’t exist in TDP. I also have many complaints about the effectiveness of armor in TDP (NO ONE PROTECTS THE CHEST!) but I doubt you want to hear my history nerd rant.


End file.
